Thomas and Algy
by DonaldDouglasandToby6
Summary: Thomas and Bertie start bickering again since both modes of transport are becoming busier. Things get out of control Algy (a character from the annuals) comes back after being repaired and decides to race Thomas.


The trains on Thomas' branch line ran quite smoothly.

Every engine was on time and the goods and passengers got to their destinations.

However, the roads were a different story.

There were lots of passengers that wanted to travel on the more modern road, but this caused problems for the buses that were in service.

Even for Bertie, the passengers were unbearable.

Every day at every stop, more and more people would be crowded on the bus stops, wanting to get a ride.

Often times two passengers had to share a seat.

It was quite an uncomfortable experience for the bus; he often felt cramped and was a bit crankier than usual.

One morning, Bertie had to wait at a bus stop for a very long time indeed.

He looked back and groaned at the sight of more people coming to board him.

"Ugh, hurry up! Thomas is waiting for me!" Bertie complained.

But more people just kept on coming.

Soon, the bus was full with passengers, and unable to hold anymore if he wanted to move.

"There's no more room," said Bertie grumpily, "You'll have to wait for the next bus..."

The passengers were disappointed.

"Aww... But we like you, Bertie."

"Flattered I guess, but I have to get to the station," Bertie snorted.

The red bus honked his horn and drove away to Dryaw as quickly as he could.

But by the time the red bus arrived at the station, he was very late indeed.

As Bertie panted into the station, the look on Thomas' face said it all.

"Look Thomas, I am so sorry," cried Bertie.

Thomas wasn't even listening to Bertie; he was furious.

"Bertie, I know we're friends, but do you have to be so careless? You made me very late and the Fat Controller is sure to reprimand me! This is the fifth time this week!"

Bertie sighed.

"I'm sorry Thomas, it's all these passengers. They just keep coming and coming."

"Well you buses are limited to yourselves. We engines have coaches so we can take unlimited passengers if we have the need to do so."

Bertie was cross.

"I have my limits you know, and so do you!"

"No I don't," Thomas boasted, "I can probably pull infinite passengers, unlike you."

"Rubbish! Everyone has their limit!" retorted Bertie.

Thomas reached his breaking point.

"Oh really? If you have limits, then why don't you try and not be late for once! We engines are always on time, while you road vehicles are nothing but trouble! Good day!"

Thomas whistled and raced away.

Annie and Clarabel were so stunned they couldn't think of anything to say.

Bertie was left completely shocked, unable to make a comeback.

That afternoon, Bertie was fuming as he rested in Ffarquhar Yards.

"That cheek! Thomas knows it's not my fault!" he grumbled.

Percy was shunting some trucks of stone nearby and overheard the bus.

He puffed over to Bertie quickly.

"What's wrong Bertie?" asked Percy worriedly as he braked.

Bertie snorted.

"Thomas said railways were better than roads, and to top it all off, he thinks I'm the cause of him being late!"

"Well, I'm sure it's just the work getting to him," said Percy gravely, "The branch line's getting busier too."

"Maybe, but he needs to be taught a lesson!"

"That I agree with." said Percy, "He's been out of control. Telling lies about an engine called 'Geoffrey', trying to find a secret on a mountain, hiding his snowplough..."

"My question is how I do it..." Bertie wondered.

"I'm sure you'll think of something, Bertie! You can be very clever!"

"Percy!"

Percy and Bertie looked over to find Mavis trundling into the station, glaring at the saddletank.

"Oh... hi Mavis."

"You're supposed to have that train at Knapford Harbour by now, Percy! Get going!"

Percy whistled and started to back out of the yard.

"Oops... Sorry Mavis! Just remember what I said, Bertie."

Bertie sighed.

"...I hope so..."

The next day, a blue bus emerged from the Crosby Auto Repair.

"Hello, and I'm back, ready to zip around the roads, just like the good old days!"

The bus grinned, just as Jason puffed in with some trucks of machinery to drop off.

"What's with all the noise?" the old engine asked indignantly, "I swear, it's like a zoo!"

Jason looked over to see the blue bus honking happily.

"Oh... It's you doing it."

"Hello there green engine, I'm Algy and I'm back from being repaired!"

"Uh.. that's fantastic, I guess. My name's Jason."

"Nice name."

"...indeed. Where are you off to, chap?" asked Jason.

"I'm usually running along the Little Western, but I was told to go the Ffarquhar Branch instead, so that's where I'm headed. See ya!"

Algy honked his horn and drove away.

"Well, that's quite an interesting character...!" Jason muttered to himself.

Later in the afternoon, Algy drove into Knapford.

Bertie was grumpily waiting there.

Algy gasped when he saw him and grinned as he drove up alongside his old friend

"Hello Bertie! Long time no see." said Algy.

Bertie looked over and inhaled in surprise.

"Algy! It's been so long! What happened to you?"

"I know! I was getting rebuilt at Crosby. That's why I've been gone for so long."

"So, have your old engine troubles been fixed?" Bertie teased.

Algy smirked.

"You bet, and I feel so much better! There's so much to catch up on though!"

Before Bertie could reply, Thomas whistled into the station to collect Old Slow Coach from Gordon.

"Oh... here comes Thomas," muttered the bus as he rolled his eyes.

Thomas was still feeling rather bitter as he braked.

"Fancy that buses are modern when they can't beat a steam engine, which are supposedly old." he said, with a meaningful glare at Bertie.

Annie and Clarabel were very cross.

"Thomas, this is out of line and very vulgar!" cried Annie in disgust.

"It's only true. I mean, if traffic's such a big problem, why can't they go on railways?"

"Thomas, the railway's getting busier every year." snorted Clarabel, "We're very famous across the world. You should know by now!"

"Besides, there are only so many coaches," added Annie.

Before Thomas could retort, Gordon arrived with his coaches, and was less than impressed.

"You know Thomas, I thought you learned your lesson about boasting about races..." grumbled Gordon.

"Well, Bertie's causing me to be late, so he deserves something!"

"Like what?"

"Like a punishment, or something to make him look bad."

Bertie scowled.

"You do realize he's right there, don't you?" Gordon asked with a hint of distaste.

"Yeah, I know."

"You're making Gordon look like Edward." grumbled his driver, "That's bad. Very bad."

"Huh!" scoffed Gordon.

Thomas wheeshed steam loudly, trying to blow steam at Gordon.

Gordon sighed and puffed away, leaving Old Slow Coach for Thomas.

"Come along, we mustn't be delayed by any more traffic..." said Thomas bitterly as Clarabel was coupled up to Old Slow Coach.

Old Slow Coach was worried.

"What's wrong with Thomas?" she asked to Annie and Clarabel.

"Thomas is having a petty feud with Bertie..." sighed Clarabel.

"Again..." muttered Annie.

"Oh... That's not good."

"You're telling us..."

Algy was worried too.

"My gosh, is Thomas really this grumpy?" the blue bus asked.

"Well, not usually, but today he's gone seemingly all the way." explained Bertie.

Algy grinned as he suddenly got a cheeky idea and honked his horn, getting Thomas' attention.

"Who are you?" Thomas asked.

"I'm Algy, the fastest bus on Sodor."

"Oh, really?" Thomas snapped, "Prove it."

"Algy, what are you doing?" whispered Bertie.

"Heh heh, you'll see." Algy said, chuckling.

Bertie gulped as Algy revved his engine and raced off into the distance.

"Catch me if you can!" the bus grinned as he drove out of sight.

Thomas was so caught up in his mood about buses that he was determined to beat the bus at any cost.

He whistled with determination.

"You're on... bus." Thomas cried.

"Wait, what?" cried Old Slow Coach as Thomas raced off.

The coaches jerked forward, quite surprised indeed.

"Thomas, what are you doing?!" cried Annie.

"I'm going to beat Algy!" Thomas stormed.

"Uh, Algy? You know that's not such a wise idea...!"

But Algy was already too far away to hear Bertie's words of caution.

Bertie sighed.

"Oh boy..."

Thomas didn't go very far along his branch line when Annie and Clarabel were shouting remarks at him.

"Thomas, I say, don't do this again!" said Annie.

"It's just a friendly race." huffed Thomas, "I'm not trying to prove a point."

"Right, and I'm a Troublesome Truck..." muttered Annie with disapproval.

"I agree with Annie, Thomas," cried Old Slow Coach, "This isn't my Great Western style! You do know I'm a luxury coach! This is reckless!"

Thomas rolled his eyes as he went faster; he wanted to beat Algy at all costs to prove that railways were better.

This caused concern for his driver.

"Thomas, if you go any faster I swear you'll burst a valve!"

Thomas let off steam angrily.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!" he imitated as he raced through Toryreck.

Meanwhile, Algy was racing on the road, stopping occasionally at a bus stop.

As he screeched to a halt for people to get off, he quickly got impatient.

"Hurry, you slow people! I have to go fast!" he urged.

The passengers were indignant about Algy's pushing, but they still got in and off quickly.

As soon as they were done, Algy drove off like a bullet.

"I'll win over that silly tank engine!" he boasted, "I'll help Bertie and prove that roads are better."

Suddenly he saw Caroline stopped at a blinking red light.

The driver braked hard and Algy stopped, just in time.

Algy was cross.

"What's the hold up?"

"Oh, I'm very sorry," Caroline apologized hastily, "I'm afraid something's wrong with that light! At least it isn't my engine overheating this time."

"Can you explain?" Algy's driver asked a workman.

"The light's broken." the workman sighed, "Cars must travel safely, you know."

Algy groaned as he very slowly drove up to the light.

"Bother..." he fumed as he saw Thomas down below, puffing along the line.

"Oh, look! That's Thomas! Are you racing him?" asked Caroline.

"Yes, but I'm afraid I'm going to lose," Algy said wryly.

"Well, that's a shame," said Caroline as she drove away.

Algy grunted.

Thomas went faster and faster as he saw Maithwaite Station up ahead.

"I must win, I must win!" he panted, "I'll prove our stance..."

"I have a bad feeling about this," said Clarabel worriedly.

"Relax, I'm perfect at this." huffed Thomas, "I have plenty of experience."

Algy, meanwhile, saw Thomas as he rounded the bend to Maithwaite.

"I'll cut across the level crossing." he grinned, "That'll cut him off and get me a chance to pass him."

So he drove straight to the level crossing.

On the track, Thomas whistled.

"Bye bye Algy!" he grinned.

Thomas thought he had lost the bus since he couldn't see him, but was going so fast that he didn't notice that the level crossing gates had closed for Algy.

But Annie did.

"Thomas, stooop!" cried Annie.

"Huh?"

Before Thomas could see them, he smashed through the gates, and into Algy.

A loud crunch was heard, and steam flew everywhere.

"Ow!" cried Thomas as a burst of steam erupted from his cab.

Algy groaned; luckily, Thomas had not plowed through him, but the passengers did suffer some injuries.

"Oh, my dents... My poor dents..." the bus wailed.

"Your dents, you stupid bus?! What about me?"

"Oh, stow it!"

Everybody was very cross about the situation.

Later, the Fat Controller inspected the damage aboard Percy.

Percy was horrified.

"Cinders and ashes!" he exclaimed.

The Fat Controller groaned as he facepalmed, once again disappointed with his number one engine.

"Thomas, I am very displeased with you. I thought you knew that racing was a bad idea," he sighed, "You could've sincerely hurt your passengers, and Algy's as well... "

Thomas felt very upset.

"I'm sorry sir, I suppose I forgot since Algy asked me to."

The Fat Controller glared at Algy.

"And you Algy... Your engine didn't work that greatly before. It's going to take days to put you back together."

Algy groaned.

"Yes sir... Sorry sir..."

It took a while for the mess to be cleared, as Rocky cleared away the remains of the crossing gates.

Percy had to be very careful as pulled Thomas out of Algy's side.

"Easy, Percy, easy..." Rocky said cautiously.

Percy's wheels moved slowly as Thomas' buffers left Algy's right wall.

"We'll have to take you to the Steamworks; I'm sure your bufferbeam is all crooked," Rocky added.

"Thomas, what were you thinking?" Percy asked crossly as he started to pull him away from the wreckage and to Crovan's Gate.

Thomas didn't reply; he felt too exhausted to say anything.

Then, Butch arrived for Algy as doctors came to inspect the passengers, to make sure nothing serious had happened.

"Do I even have to ask?" Butch quizzed angrily as his hook was attached to Algy's bumper.

"No..." Algy muttered as Butch drove away.

Eventually, Bertie had to come and get Algy's passengers.

"I'm sorry for being late," apologized Bertie as he drove in, "But I had other passengers to deliver."

"It's not your fault," said a smartly dressed man, "It's Thomas and Algy's."

Thomas and Algy were officially in disgrace.

A couple of weeks later, Thomas and Algy were both repaired.

The Fat Controller lectured Thomas again about safety on his railway, and as punishment, he had to stay in the shed.

"Oh well, I wanted a rest anyway." Thomas said sadly, "I just wish Percy didn't have to take Annie and Clarabel..."

Algy quietly drove up next to him.

"Uh, hello again."

Thomas looked away crossly, not wanting to speak to the blue bus, believing it was his fault.

Algy sighed.

"Thomas, I'm very sorry... I was being rather foolish..."

Thomas couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"Of course you were... Granted, so was I."

Algy laughed heartily.

"We both were. What caused it...?"

Thomas' smile faded.

"Oh, just an argument...with my good friend...Bertie..."

Algy grinned broadly

"I'm good friends with him. I can patch things up with him if you like."

Thomas sighed sadly, looking down at his buffers.

"No, it's my fault for being too big for my buffers, as Edward would put it."

Algy smiled slightly.

"It's my fault too. I did overdo my talents."

"I hope Bertie can forgive me." said Thomas sadly, "I've been a very poor friend."

"I already have Thomas." and Bertie drove up alongside Algy.

"Bertie?!" cried Thomas.

"Heh heh, hello Thomas! And Algy, I warned you." Bertie teased.

Algy rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I know..."

Bertie then looked to Thomas.

"I have periods when I'm in a bad mood. Like that time I was stubborn to you and didn't get my lamp repaired."

"I remember." chuckled Thomas, 'At least now I have two bus friends!"

Bertie and Algy honked their horns with delight, while Thomas just grinned.

Even with the consequences, it worked out, as quarrels among friends should.


End file.
